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Guangzhou skyline
Skyline view of Guangzhou, China; Canton Tower, China's tallest tower at the time it was completed, is visible in the far distance at the center of the photograph.
list of the world’s largest cities by population
Aerial view of TokyoThe vast and dense expanse of Tokyo viewed from the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower.
Aerial view of ShanghaiElevated view of Shanghai's financial district, located along the Huangpu River.
New Delhi street sceneView of a bustling street in New Delhi's Paharganj neighborhood.
With more than 70 million inhabitants, Guangzhou, China, is far and away the world’s largest city. But, what defines a city? When you are comparing developments with tens of millions of people located in countries across the globe, a unified definition is tricky—one needs to consider a variety of population groupings, including urban populations, consolidated urban areas, agglomerations, and conglomerations. However, all these groupings have one thing in common: they feature a central city surrounded by contiguous settlements of people. The list below represents the world’s 25 largest such groupings.
| rank | central city | country | urban area type | urban area population (2024 est.) | details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Urban population: densely populated and continuous urban settlement. | |||||
| 2Agglomeration: large, densely and contiguously populated area consisting of a city and its suburbs. | |||||
| 3Conglomeration: grouping of two or more agglomerations. | |||||
| 4Consolidated urban area: combination of neighboring urban areas or populations. | |||||
| Source: Thomas Brinkhoff: Major Agglomerations of the World. | |||||
| 1 | Guangzhou | China | urban population1 | 70,100,000 | Includes Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan. |
| 2 | Tokyo | Japan | agglomeration2 | 41,000,000 | Includes Chiba, Kawasaki, Maebashi, Sagamihara, Saitama, Utsunomiya, and Yokohama. |
| 3 | Shanghai | China | urban population1 | 40,800,000 | Includes Changshu, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Wuxi. |
| 4 | Delhi | India | conglomeration3 | 34,600,000 | Includes Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram. |
| 5 | Jakarta | Indonesia | agglomeration2 | 29,200,000 | Includes Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Tangerang Selatan. |
| 6 | Manila | Philippines | agglomeration2 | 27,200,000 | Includes Caloocan and Quezon City |
| 7 | Mumbai | India | conglomeration3 | 27,100,000 | Includes Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Ulhasnagar, and Vasai-Virar. |
| 8 | Mexico City | Mexico | consolidated urban area4 | 25,100,000 | Includes Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec, and Naucalpan. |
| 8 | Seoul | South Korea | consolidated urban area4 | 25,100,000 | Includes Bucheon, Goyang, Incheon, Seongnam, and Suwon. |
| 10 | Cairo | Egypt | agglomeration2 | 22,500,000 | Includes Giza and Shubrā al-Khaymah. |
| 10 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | agglomeration2 | 22,500,000 | |
| 12 | São Paulo | Brazil | agglomeration2 | 22,100,000 | Includes Guarulhos. |
| 13 | New York City | U.S. | consolidated urban area4 | 22,000,000 | Includes Bridgeport, Newark, and New Haven. |
| 14 | Beijing | China | urban population1 | 21,200,000 | |
| 14 | Bangkok | Thailand | agglomeration2 | 21,200,000 | |
| 16 | Karachi | Pakistan | agglomeration2 | 20,900,000 | |
| 17 | Lagos | Nigeria | 20,700,000 | Source notes low reliability. | |
| 18 | Moscow | Russia | agglomeration2 | 19,100,000 | |
| 19 | Kolkata | India | conglomeration3 | 17,700,000 | Includes Haora. |
| 19 | Ōsaka | Japan | agglomeration2 | 17,700,000 | Includes Himeji, Kōbe, Kyōto, and Sakai. |
| 21 | Chengdu | China | urban population1 | 17,300,000 | |
| 22 | Los Angeles | U.S. | consolidated urban area4 | 17,200,000 | Includes Anaheim and Riverside. |
| 23 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | consolidated urban area4 | 16,700,000 | Includes San Justo and La Plata. |
| 24 | Tehrān | Iran | agglomeration2 | 16,500,000 | Includes Karaj. |
| 25 | Istanbul | Turkey | agglomeration2 | 15,900,000 | Includes Gebze. |